Belgian GP underway at 2.10pm on Sunday, coverage on Sky F1 from 12.30pm
Thursday 6 December 2018 11:19, UK
Mercedes are braced for a "closely matched" fight against Ferrari in Sunday's Belgian GP with title rivals Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel starting out from the front row.
After Hamilton beat Vettel to pole, the pair will share the front row for only the third time this season.
Silver Arrows boss Toto Wolff believes Mercedes' jump in engine performance with their new upgrade is "similar" to Ferrari's, despite the Scuderia appearing to be much faster on the straights at the Belgian GP.
Although Hamilton took pole position for Mercedes in a wet qualifying session, it was Ferrari who had dominated before that, finishing fastest in every practice session as well as Q1 and Q2 in Saturday's shootout.
Hamilton beats Vettel to pole at Spa
Ferrari, who like Mercedes, have brought their spec-three power unit to Spa, also topped the speed trap, which should give Vettel overtaking opportunities in Sunday's race as he prepares to start behind Hamilton on the front row.
"We clearly have two very closely-matched packages round this circuit," said Mercedes technical chief James Allison.
Wolff, while admitting it was tough to compare in a compromised qualifying, also believes there is little between the two teams in terms of outright performance.
"It's very difficult to judge because we haven't seen the real performance as it was wet in a session when everyone would have switched up the engines," said Wolff.
"What we have seen in the wet is pretty similar. There are different performance characteristics, but very similar."
"We need to keep pushing."
Ferrari were once again unable to match Mercedes in the rain, with Hamilton finishing well over half a second ahead of Vettel, but before that had been taking a lot of time out of their championship rivals in the high-speed sections.
It is a far cry to recent years, when the Mercedes engine has reigned supreme with their rivals usually flourishing in tighter portions of the track.
"What we see is the Ferraris are very strong in Sector One on the main straight and we perform particularly well in the twisty second sector," added Wolff.
"Who would have ever thought that we would have seen these sectors?"
Bottas aiming for podium
Hamilton's team-mate Valtteri Bottas did not post a time in Q3, knowing he would be starting at the back due to the engine change penalty.
But the Finn is relishing the chance to showcase his overtaking skills.
"I think [Sunday] is a great opportunity for me to try and come back as well as I can," he said. "I've set my mindset to starting last and I'm looking forward to it.
"I see it as an opportunity."
Bottas, who is set to start 19th ahead of Renault's Nico Hulkenberg, is aiming high, claiming: "My goal is to be on the podium.
"I know it is possible. There's no point giving up."
BELGIAN GP PROVISIONAL GRID
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari
3. Esteban Ocon, Force India
4. Sergio Perez, Force India
5. Romain Grosjean, Haas
6. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari
7. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
8. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull
9. Kevin Magnussen, Haas
10. Pierre Gasly, Toro Rosso
11. Brendon Hartley, Toro Rosso
12. Charles Leclerc, Sauber
13. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber
15. Fernando Alonso, McLaren
16. Sergey Sirotkin, Williams
17. Lance Stroll, Williams
18. Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren
19. Valtteri Bottas*, Mercedes
20. Nico Hulkenberg**, Renault
*Sent to the back of the grid for power unit change
**Sent to the back of the grid for power unit change and five-place grid penalty for turbo change
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